Martin Guerre, the third musical by
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg, opened in London in July 1996, and was then extensively revised and reopened in November, going on to a modest run. (A London cast album reflecting the altered version appeared just after the second opening.)
Boublil and
Schönberg then undertook another extensive revision, leading to a regional British production that opened in West Yorkshire on November 30, 1998; this second cast album is based on that production. Martin Guerre is a story of mistaken identity and impersonation, its basic plot concerning a 16th-century Frenchman who returns from war to a small village after many years claiming to be the title character.
Boublil and
Schönberg acknowledged from the start that the man is an impostor, blowing the material up to be about the fight between Catholics and Protestants. The writers tinkered a lot in this third version: where the first album credited Edward Hardy and Stephen Clark as English lyricists, now only Clark is mentioned, and though most of the music and scenes are essentially similar, the lyrics are nearly all new. The result isn't really better or worse; it's just different. ~ William Ruhlmann